[This is] INSANITY.

INSANITY, meet Cori.

INSANITY

Day 1: Done.

Holy cow.

I'll keep you posted.

xo | cmd

Hi & Bye, Sunday

Where did today go? I'm not complaining, it was a busy day but it was a good day.

Not to mention.. the sand was pretty nice at Shaw Park tonight.. no complaints there.


ahhh, sand and sun.. only thing missing is a large body of [salt]water :p

You know it's been a busy day when there isn't much room left over to blog ;)  See ya tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Crafty Crayons

Hi and bye, Saturday!

Today flew right on by. Sydni and I took full advantage of some time at the house to tackle a little experimental craft project we've been putting off for a couple of weeks now. It's been done and done and done again, but we had yet to check this off our list. Crayons! :)

Step 1: Pick your help. That's the most important part to any good partner project. My choice?

my excellent and very eager helper!
she did a superb job!

Step 2: Prep work. Peel crayons, pick your color combinations, and get 'em ready. A note to any who think that going any 'brand' other than Crayola may provide inferior quality - nah. We went cheap-o and were completely satisfied. It's all personal preference though.

colors galore! peeled, finely chopped...

Step 3: Arrange for the baking.... and do so at 350 degrees for as long as it takes for the wax to visibly melt. Keep an eye on these things - I noticed that the shapes filled a little less started to smoke just slightly once they were melted to a certain point.

bright!

Step 4 [if you're in my house]: Don't forget to take a picture of them before they're fully cooled and your daughter dashes off with them to hide them in a special place in her "castle." LOL. Trust me, once I find those things, I take a picture. They turned out really well! I would suggest, though, if you're going to use the method we did [cookie cutters in a pan], wrap the bottoms of the cookie cutters in aluminum foil so that there's no leaking out of the wax once it starts melting. We only had some minor melting, but I'll remember this for next time. 

Step 5: Relax. Craft time is taxing. ;) 

adore. adore. aaaaadore.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends :) 

xo | cmd

Olyyyyyympics & A Far-Off Birthday Wish :)

I.. Love.. The Olympics.

What I love even more than the Olympic games themselves are the stories behind so many of the athletes whose defining moments will come during the few short weeks there in London. There are so many to choose from, but one of the ones I was so fond of today was the 15-year-old American swimmer who just won the gold tonight in the womens 800m freestyle. This girl, like so many of the other athletes there, are teenagers, but I heard in an interview she did following the race that once the Olympics are done, she's headed back home to resume high school and participate on her school swim team. Haha. Sorry, I couldn't help but laugh at the prospect of competing as a high school sophomore against the world record holder and olympic gold medalist. Either way, congratulations, Katie Ledecky!! Way to grab gold and represent your country!!

katie ledecky | 2012 london olympic gold medalist | 800m freestyle

You know something else I love?
Birthdays :) :)
I love them especially when they belong to dear friends of mine!

Happy birthday, James!!!

grueter! hbd, old friend!!

This guy.. haha.. one of the funniest friends I've ever had, along with the most level-headed and loyal people around. He's in Amann, Jordan now - Jamie, I hope you're enjoying every single moment of your new journey! Happy birthday, from the states, to you, dear friend. Miss you tons, and hoping to see you again very soon!!

-- I'm still reeling that it's already August. Where has 2012 gone?! *Sigh. Guess time just flies when you're living in the moment :) Happy weekend!!

xo | cmd

One of THOSE Days.

Yeeeesh. :/

I am so ready for Nancy to return. I'm afraid to say it for fear of what tomorrow may yield, but I'm not quite sure what else could possibly fit into one single set of five days.

It's always when one of the core members of an office is in a meeting, on vacation, out sick, or otherwise out of commission that the fires start flaming a little bit higher and everything that seemed stable starts to unravel. It hasn't gotten entirely to that point this week, but Nancy being out on vacation this week has heralded in a whole bunch of hurdles for us to conquer.

Among the smaller ones, today was something of a crushing day. We are now another person short; Courtney, it was an absolute blast working with you and I wish you the very best on whatever your next endeavor may be. It's going to be a huge adjustment for us, and surely quite the shock for Nancy when she gets back... lots of catching up to be done.

silly times .. we'll miss you, courtney! :( :( 

I am absolutely spent. It was a long day spent covering not just two, but now three different roles and trying to keep track of it all. I have two more days of doing that before Nanc returns on Tuesday next week. Boy am I ready for the weekend :).

TGI[almost]F.. My goodness. I'm gonna finish this night on a positive note reveling in the sweetness of Olympic romance [Ricky Berens & Rebecca Soni]. I can't imagine being an Olympic gold medal couple. Haha. GO TEAM USA!!

ricky berens & rebecca soni | olympic gold medalists
... cutest olympic couple ever :p

One more day, then the weeeeeeeeekend!

xo | cmd

Chik-Fil-A Day!

8.1.12

So there has been quiiiiite the fuss and fury over today's nationwide campaign to visit Chik-Fil-A and support  Dan Cathy's honest answer to a question already answered before it was poised.

Was I there? Yep.
Was I concerning myself with harsh, irrational thoughts of hatred geared towards those who weren't there, or those who would rather sit back and criticize the motives behind Chik-Fil-A? Nope.
And did I enjoy my food? Duh :).

Here's the thing. You can speculate all you want, but there are a multitude of reasons to justify my trip to Chik-Fil-A today.

1 | I am a Christian. That might enrage you, at the very thought of someone declaring it, but I am, and I'm not just settling for it, I am proud of it. That being said, the fine line that delineates radical individuals or groups who use the term Christian in a loose, contextually-twisted form is something to be carefully weighed. Where so many automatically gravitate to the belief that Christians are a hate-filled collection of uppity, judgmental snobs, I must disappoint you in that my belief system as a Christian dictates that I must love all people, regardless of their circumstance, belief, or lifestyle. That does not mean that I must advocate decisions with which I don't agree. Likewise, I wouldn't expect anyone to follow my beliefs without research and the conscious personal decision to do so. I personally am an advocate of Biblical principles, and regardless of how the world twists it, I will continue to be just that.

2 | Free Speech. This particular series of debate and controversy spawned from a Christian man answering a question honestly. Just like anyone is clearly free to voice disapproval of his answer, he's free to give it. And we're free to go eat. And the next person is free to not go eat. And so on....

3 | Political Chicken? Nah. I remember this one time, when I was a kid, and I could eat my food without having to justify that decision with 26 hours of research and a term paper. This time, I'll be politely declining the invite to implement a political regimen into my diet. My daily diet is slightly more organic than breaded and fried chicken, so I don't think that's really an issue, but you know what I mean. I will support and abide by the guidelines of my religious belief system, not the attempted swaying by bureaucrats that my political beliefs should either permit or a ban me from participating in any form of commerce. I'm not really a party type of gal, but I do know one thing; I'm no fascist.

what a crowd!

4 | Telephone!Cell Phone?Tell A Poem?Gel Foam?WHAT?! Remember that game? I do. Sitting in a circle with a bunch of other people whispering a short phrase and hearing how distorted it would become after moving from ear to ear. I read today that the original statement made by Mr. Cathy stated not that he is "anti-gay," rather that he is in favor of traditional Biblical principles as it pertains to marriage. Sure, it's splitting hairs, but in the plight to read things directly as they're presented, let's not do any twisting.


5 | I  ♥ Chik-Fil-A.  < And I totally don't mean that in a bandwagon way. I wasn't alone today, that's for sure. The line when I left was wrapped around kiosks all the way from the counter to Sears. Whoa. I may be a health nut, but every one of us has a few guilty pleasures. This happens to have been one of mine for a looong time, and that's not about to change because a man answered a personal question honestly. It's unecessarily delicious. On this particular venture today, I even found some dinner company [Greg & Bonnie]. Sorry, Panda Express, you'll have to wait.

I feel like this is all I've heard about all day long. Well, good for all of us, for making a stand in either direction. Happy Wednesday, friends :)

xo | cmd

USA Olympic Hardware

fab 5! | olympics 2012

Olympic coverage post #8953479257803478105734021...

Who cares, CONGRATULATIONS to the Fab Five!!

I'm such a junkie for gymnastics! I grew up on the stuff, from the time I was about 3 until I traded in my spandex for shin guards and went full time with soccer. It was a weighted decision, but my fond memories of spending hours at the gym, bending toes into perfect points and having blisters on the inside of bar grips will always stay. I love gymnastics, and I love watching the pros go at it the way it was meant to be done.

These 5 girls (Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross & McKayla Maroney) did a stellar job holding their own in competition and keeping Russia at bay for the all-around team gold. There was mass amount of speculation from just about every website and news channel; word is that this calibur of performance hasn't been seen or achieved since the Magnificent Seven of 1996. [Pause - I just realized how the years are flying by; I remember very clearly those epic moments of Kerri Strug's vault injury, Domenique Moceanu's tenacious beam routine, and of course, Awesome Dawsome. I just realized I was only in sixth grade. Haha. Whoa.]

magnificent seven | olympics 1996

Speaking of gold medals for team USA, kudos to the swimmers, too! Jimmy & Mo came by tonight with a couch and a few tables they are going to store temporarily at our place, and once we settled for homing the couch in the living room due to its inability to fit through any of our doorways [long story....], we settled in to watch the finals of the men's 4x200m relay. We were talking tonight about how the records being set by Michael Phelps will not likely be broken for years to come, and that these historic moments are happening in our lifetime. Our kids won't know anything about this other than what they read in books or online. Crazy. 

michael phelps. conor dwyer. ryan lochte. ricky berens
2012 olympic gold medalists

And tribute to the women, too! Bronze medalists - still hardware!!

lia neal. allison schmitt. jessica hardy. missy franklin
2012 olympic bronze medalists

Yay, London Olympics! 

It's late. I'm outta here. 

xo | cmd